augmented reality •

Remodel Your Kitchen Using HoloLens

Mar 19, 2016 By Lori Martinez Leave a Comment

Use HoloLens in order to design your dream kitchen.

As painful as it may sound, your kitchen will sooner a later, need another touch of color. And everybody knows how hard it is to choose the perfect tiles to match the countertops or the right size for a four-seat kitchen table. Well, you can now design your dream kitchen using HoloLens and Lowe’s top-notch merchandise.

Recently, Microsoft has announced that has formed a partnership with Lowe’s, the number one choice when it comes to kitchenware and appliances. As part of their deal, Lowe’s agreed to let Microsoft set up a little showroom involving HoloLens, its newest augmented reality headgear.

This move allows Microsoft to bring its latest product closer to the customers.

So, what’s this all about? Well, think about how frustrating it is to spend hours in a shop searching for the perfect tiles or the perfect kitchen drapes and once you’ve finished installing them, you find out that they were a poor choice in the first place.

Not to mention the fact that redesigning your kitchen takes a lot of time and a lot of money. This is one of these situations where you can’t afford to play the wrong card. This is where HoloLens kicks in.

In an attempt to make it easier for its customers, Lowe’s in collaboration with Microsoft has set up a little showroom in Lynwood. This device is perfect for customers who just can’t make up their minds on what to buy for their kitchen.

So, put on the headgear and start designing your dream kitchen from scratch. Apart from the state-of-the-art graphical representations, Microsoft offers real-scale kitchenware models. This will help the clients decide whether the selected countertop or the new oven will fit in a particular space in their kitchen or not.

Of course, the clients can solicit a 3D representation of their home space for the ultimate kitchen-designing experience. Add elements, measure each item twice and eliminate kitchenware to design your kitchen.

If you’re satisfied with the results, you can start ordering your stuff right away. But, if you still have doubts regarding a piece of furniture, Lowe’s and Microsoft can put your sketch in a doggie bag. This means that wit HoloLens you can send your project via email to your SO or your email to view and to review results.

According to Microsoft, this is the first location used to test HoloLens. If the pilot program will be well received, the tech company is planning on expanding to other cities, including Raleigh, where Lowe’s has its HQ.

Photo credits:wikipedia

Meta 2 Development Kit Is Now Open for Pre-Orders

Mar 2, 2016 By Jose Buttner Leave a Comment

After Meta’s CEO Meron Gribetz revealed their new augmented reality headset at last month’s TEDx event, the company has now decided to take things a step further and announced that they are now taking pre-orders for their much-anticipated VR product.

Granted, Meta 2 may be bulgier and less stylish than other Augmented Reality headsets that are on the market these days, but whatever it lacks in terms of esthetics, it certainly makes up for in performance.

According to Meta’s official blog post, this second generation AR product is “leap-frogging the competition and delivering an immersive experience unlike any other.”

The new headset offers users the possibility to interact with the digital content using their hands, which is an innovation in the world of augmented reality. This means that people can now touch and move virtual objects (“holograms”) intuitively, just as they would do in the real world.

During his Ted Talk presentation, Meron Gribetz explained that this headset delivers an experience that is based on a neuroscience approach. For this product, the company focused on creating a “natural machine”, which feels like an extension of ourselves instead of the other way around.

One of the most important features of this product is the incredibly large 90-degree field of view, the largest one on the market. It has a 1,440p screen, a 720p webcam and an incredible set of sensors, which allows a total hand-controlled experience.

The headset can be connected to a computer through a 9-foot cable and it also allows you to interact with virtual objects through conventional methods, such as a keyboard or a Web browser.

It is useful to know that Meta 2 is compatible with Microsoft Office, Spotify and the Adobe Creative Suite. Since it was designed specifically for developers, the product is comfortable and lightweight, allowing users to remove it easily while they are testing and coding.

Eventually, the headset will focus on collaboration in the work space, allowing for multiple headsets to be synced up and show the same content, with users interacting with it at the same time.

The product does not come cheap, though. The Meta 2 Development Kit can be pre-ordered on their website for $949 and should begin shipping in the third quarter of 2016.

For those of you who may not know, Meta is an American company focused on creating augmented reality products. In 2013 they launched a successful Kickstarter campaign, raising almost $200,000, which helped them develop their products and bring them in the hands of consumers.

Image Source: Uploadvr

For Only $15 You Can Have Your Own Google Cardboard VR Viewer

Mar 1, 2016 By Benjamin Teh Leave a Comment

If you want to experience a cool virtual reality headset, but don’t have that much money to invest for this kind of product, Google now has you covered with their Cardboard VR viewer, which you can purchase at $15 per piece.

Until recently, customers could only buy the Cardboard in combination with other products or by going through third party resellers. Now, however, the company has allowed fans to purchase the product directly from their web store.

People can now purchase it for just $15 a piece and if you want to give someone a nice surprise and offer them a taste of the virtual reality experience, Google is kind enough to let you buy two products for $25. If you expect to find it in every country, however, you will be in for a disappointment as the Cardboard is only available in the U.S.

This paper-based product is compatible with most Android and iOS smartphones, which have a display of up to 6 inches.

In the same category of Google’s web store, you will discover the Google Tech C1 Glass VR Viewer, as well as Mattel’s View-Master goggles. These are basically similar to the Cardboard VR Viewer, just slightly more comfortable.

The Mattel product was released in 2015, has a plastic housing and can be purchased for $30.

Google’s decision to make this product more accessible for consumers means we’re stepping into the portable VR era at an accelerated rate.

As some of you may remember, when Samsung was present at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this February, they promised to give consumers a free Gear VR for every Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge pre-order.

Alcatel has also made a step in this direction, by announcing that their new Idol 4 will be shipped in a box which doubles as a VR viewer. LG is not too far behind either, having already developed a prototype of their own VR headset.

The Google Cardboard is a virtual reality and augmented reality product, which can be used with a mobile phone. Created by Damien Henry and David Coz, it is supposed to pique people’s interest and curiosity in AR and VR applications.

It was launched in 2014 and since then there have been more than 5 million units sold, with over 1,000 compatible applications published.

Image Source: Wikipedia

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